


teach me how to say goodbye

by books_and_spite



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Last day of school, Self-Indulgent, classmates - Freeform, it's a class party!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27326608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/books_and_spite/pseuds/books_and_spite
Summary: It’s been four years. Four long years of school together. Laughing together, having fun together, becoming a family together.And now it’s over.Thomas is learning how to say goodbye.
Relationships: Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost Burr, Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, Everyone & Everyone, Maria Reynolds/Angelica Schuyler, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Thomas Jefferson/James Madison
Kudos: 18





	teach me how to say goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> listen. i watched five youtube videos of megasix yesterday night, including the one from the night millie, aimie and maiya left. i'm graduating in three weeks. this is completely self-indulgent and completely sentimental. you have been warned.

Four years.

God, it’s been so _long,_ Thomas thinks.

Four years since the class of 2020 entered this school. Four years since they all met. Four years of laughter, and fun, and friendship, and- wow.

It’s just that so little has _changed._

Alexander is still wearing his rainbow hoodies and drinking far too much coffee, Eliza is still a literal angel, John is still a turtle-loving artist who has little turtles doodled on everything he owns, the three of them are still dating. Lafayette and Hercules are still chaos gremlins. Angelica and Peggy are still scary as fuck, and Maria still is the most fashionable science genius in the room. Aaron is still just as quiet and just as wise, and Theodosia is still more sarcastic than anyone else.

And then there’s James. James who has always been there. James, his best friend, his boyfriend, the closest thing to a soulmate Thomas will ever have. James, clever and caring and brave and fierce, just… him.

And then there’s Thomas. He doesn’t think that he’s changed either, to be honest. He’s still that overly talkative, sarcastic, light-hearted boy. That boy who made _friends_ out of these people. 

And now they’re together, maybe for the last time.

Gathered in their classroom, eating shitty junk food, drinking soft drinks, living their best lives.

And what a life it is.

Thomas throws an arm around James’ shoulders, and James leans into him, smiling. “This is nice,” he murmurs, even as the class erupts into cacophony over one of Angelica’s comments or another.

“Yeah,” Thomas says. 

A bunch of messed-up kids against a messed-up world, but hey. They made it.

Mr. Washington taps his glass, loudly, and the two of them turn to face him. He’s sitting in the teacher’s chair, at the front of the class, grinning madly. Alexander whistles loudly as he clears his throat and taps his microphone.

“Well! It’s the end of your time here with us, at Princeton,” Mr. Washington begins, “and I have to say, I’m going to miss you all. You’re some of the best students I’ve ever had the honor of teaching, and I know that all of you can make your lives amazing. Work hard, follow your dreams, and remember me, won’t you?” He salutes them, still smiling, albeit with a touch of sadness in his face, now. “You’re such great kids, all of you. Never forget that.”

The cheers start as soon as the last word leaves his mouth, more than one student surging up to hug him or shake his hand. Mr. Washington is one of the best people they’ve ever known, and if there are tears shed into his shoulder- no one’s telling.

Thomas and James both go up to shake his hand and wish him well, and Alexander, on their heels, envelops Mr. Washington in a hug. It’s cute, their relationship. Mr. Washington is practically Alexander’s father figure. 

Alexander stays there for a while, talking very sincerely to Mr. Washington, looking determined, and for once in his life he looks content with what he has. Alexander always wants more. It’s good to see him like this. 

James squeezes Thomas’ hand, and Thomas presses a kiss to his forehead.

It’s Angelica’s turn to speak next, and she catches the microphone that Mr. Washington tosses at her deftly, making it look easy. She taps it once, then starts talking. “Where to start? You guys are honestly all so amazing and you’ve made life here so much happier. I just- well. I love you all.”

It’s rare that Angelica shows so much emotion. She’s always shielding herself. Keeping secrets. Hiding them under her shell- bright, strong, dynamic, but still a shell. People are quiet, almost awed. 

Angelica’s smile is teary. “I’ll miss you. And your stupidity. For example, when those three-” she gestures to Alexander, Eliza and John- “were dancing around each other last year. Remember?”

“And when Alexander accidentally locked himself in the classroom!” James calls.

“And when he, how you say, landed himself in the hospital for drinking too much coffee,” Lafayette adds. 

“Okay, wow, is it fucking Give Alex Hell day?” Alexander grumbles. “And Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette, stop fucking saying ‘how you say’, you’re fucking better at English than most people here.”

“Eh? I am but a simple Frenchman, I do not comprehend,” Lafayette says innocently.

“Fuck you!” 

“Language~” Peggy sing-songs.

_“English! Go fuck yourself!”_

Ah, yes, chaos, their old friend. Of course the emotion wouldn’t last. 

Alexander looks like he’s about to fistfight Lafayette, Lafayette is laughing, Peggy is waving a rainbow flag aggressively, and Aaron is examining his water bottle, the look on his face saying _I am seriously considering using this to kill someone._

They really need to get this back on track.

Thomas snorts and steals the microphone from Angelica. “Shut up,” he says loudly, and unsurprisingly, the room does not shut up.

James sighs, leans over, and says mildly into the microphone, “Shut your mouths or I’ll shut them for you.” And because James is amazing and also really scary when he wants to be, the room shuts up.

Thomas shrugs and starts talking. “All of you are fucking _idiots_ but I suppose I’ll miss you.”

“Real supportive, Thomas,” Angelica comments.

“I'm not a supportive person,” he offers back, and gets a nudge from James, who pulls the microphone from his hand. 

“But seriously, all of you are such bright people. And you make life worthwhile. The chaos is what makes us us, and I’m going to miss it. Both of us are,” James says, and receives a round of laughs and cheers.

“You and Thomas are practically joined at the hip, so I can actually believe that. Now let someone else talk, we don’t have all day,” Theodosia calls from her corner next to Aaron. James sends her a two-fingered salute and tosses the microphone in her direction. But it’s intercepted by John. 

There’s a slightly bemused smile on John’s face as he talks. “Honestly, I have nothing to say except: can we just remember that time that Angelica literally tripped over her own feet after seeing Maria in that red dress?”

Angelica buries her head in her hands as Maria laughs brightly beside her. “What have I ever done to you, John?”

“I’m defending my boyfriend’s honour,” the freckled boy argues, then pales drastically at the look on Angelica’s face. “Eliza, don’t let her kill me.”

“You got yourself into this, you can get yourself out,” Eliza says mildly. 

“See, this is why we love and respect Eliza in this family,” Theodosia says innocently.

Eliza blows her a kiss, and Theodosia pretends to catch it dramatically. Thomas and James laugh, James leaning into Thomas’ shoulder, and this feels so warm and so safe and so like home.

Oh, Thomas is going to miss them. 

The microphone gets passed around a few more times. Alexander waxes poetic about their lives (no one really expected anything else), Aaron smiles as he talks about how they’ve made a change, Maria thanks them for helping her through a rough time.

They eat snacks. They drink punch and soft drinks. They laugh and joke and talk and it feels like it’s going to last forever, this one beautiful moment.

Alexander and Eliza and John challenge the other partners- Thomas and James, Aaron and Theodosia, and Angelica and Maria- to a riff-off, and it devolves into full-out war, people cutting each other off within seconds. Angelica and Maria drop out first, then Alexander, Eliza and John, and then Thomas and James beat Aaron and Theodosia with by rapping 飘向北方, which was a pretty damn good accomplishment, if Thomas says so himself.

They’re partying.

It’s amazing.

And then- it’s evening, suddenly, and they have to leave.

Everyone pulls everyone else into a group hug, all at once, crying and whispering fond goodbyes and pressing kisses to cheeks, and they’re a mess of tangled limbs and tears and laughter, and _oh my god_ this is goodbye. 

They won’t be seeing each other in school. Maybe not in person for a long, long time. Thomas tells himself to savour the moment.

Savour the way Alexander is always talking, savour Hercules’ bear hugs and knitted sweaters, savour Theodosia’s witty remarks, savour their youth while they’re here.

In the end it’s Thomas and James, them, always them, in each other’s arms, kissing, being there, and Thomas will never say goodbye to him, never, because he’ll never need to. James will always be there. He’ll always be there for James. 

All around them people are murmuring, exchanging last words, hugging-

You can feel the love, the friendship, the _joy_ in the air. To new beginnings. To _hope._

And life is good.

Even though this is goodbye, life is good.


End file.
